What does summer mean to you? Is it lazing by the pool? Reading a trashy novel? Long walks along the beach? Kids squealing as they run through sprinklers? Hiking, biking and swimming?

Or maybe. . . eating ice cream?

While I love long walks and the fact that summer means I can get out of the house as soon as I think of it (no boots, gloves, scarf, hat, earmuffs. . . etc), I do love me some rich, creamy, sugar-free, dairy-free ice cream as well! And, truth be told, we eat ice cream all year round, not just in summer.

I have to admit that, growing up, I wasn’t that much of an ice cream fan (I know, weird kid, right?). But once I started an anti-candida diet and had to cut out all my beloved baked goods (at least for a while, until I re-created them), I turned instead to ice cream as a sweet treat. The HH’s preferred dessert is always something creamy, so we’ve been indulging since then!

I’ve been playing with my new Breville Smart Scoop ice cream maker and wow, what fun it’s been! As you may know, I have most often in the past used my food processor method to make ice cream, something I discovered when my previous ice cream maker wore out and I just couldn’t find another one I liked. And if you don’t have an ice cream maker, the food processor is definitely a great option for making soft-serve style ice cream.

But the problem with my old method is that you can never include add-ins, except the first time you make it (because, of course, they’ll get blended when you’re processing your frozen chunks). Plus, the texture is always the same: soft-serve.

In other words, The Smart Scoop has opened up a whole new world of ice creams for me!

I’ve been working with different firmness levels, different textures, and–the key–some add-ins! It also has 12 firmness settings so you can pick whatever works best with your ice cream base. And once it’s done, it will keep the ice cream at that same firmness for up to 3 hours! Just walk away (then come back for a spoonful), go out and garden (come back for a few spoonfuls), walk the dog (come back for a bowlful). . . you get the idea.

If you’re thinking of getting a new ice cream maker for the summer, this is truly a stellar option.

I will warn you, though, this baby is heavy. That’s because it has a chilling mechanism built right in (most ice cream makers require you to pre-chill the bucket so that the ice cream can be frozen when made, which means you always need to plan ahead at least 24 hours for any ice cream).

The Smart Scoop has a “pre-cool” feature that takes only about 15 minutes and chills it right down so that you can make ice cream literally within minutes of when the idea hits you. What I’ve been doing is setting the pre-chill button and while it chills, I mix up my ice cream base. Then the machine dings to indicate it’s cooled down enough, I pour in the ice cream base and turn it on. Ice cream ready in about 45 minutes from concept to bowl!

And guess what? Since it’s the machine that chills (not the bucket), that means you can make your batch of ice cream, scoop it into a container for the freezer–and then start on a second batch right away! No re-chilling your container or machine. *faints*

I also really liked the fact that you can choose either auto or manual mode. If you want the machine to take over, just set it to the type of frozen dessert you’d like, say, frozen yogurt or gelato. But if you know that you want something a little firmer or less so, choose manual and you can determine how long the machine churns.

In the past couple of months, I made Kiwi Ice Cream, Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream, Raspberry Ice Cream, Cookie Dough Ice Cream, and of course, this incredible Carrot Cake Ice Cream, for which you’ll find the recipe below. I used cashew-based as well as coconut milk-based and a few mostly fruit-based, and they all turned out great.

I hope you love this Carrot Cake Ice Cream! Not only is it sugar-free and dairy-free, it’s also the perfect texture, and unlike most vegan ice creams, it stays soft enough to scoop for several days. We couldn’t get enough in our house.

For this particular ice cream, you really do need an ice cream maker. But if you don’t have one yet–what are you waiting for?

Set up your ice cream maker so it’s ready to go (with the Smart Scoop, you can just set to “pre-cool.”)

In a small pot, combine the carrots, 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp (150 ml) xylitol, water, lemon zest and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then lower heat to simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until the xylitol is dissolved and the liquid has been entirely absorbed, 20-30 minutes. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a the jug of a high-speed blender, combine the coconut milk, cashews, 1/4 cup (60 ml) xylitol, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Blend until perfectly smooth. Add the xanthan gum and blend again. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of your ice cream maker and start churning. (IMPORTANT: DO NOT ADD the carrots or walnuts at this point!).

About 5 minutes before the ice cream is ready (your Smart Scoop will sound an alarm when it’s time), add your carrots and walnuts to the mixture and churn to combine. Once ready, scoop and enjoy. Store any leftovers (good luck with that) in a container in the freezer. Makes 4-6 servings.

Disclosure: Links in this post may be affiliate links. If you choose to purchase using those links, at no cost to you, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.

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Hi there I was able to access all but the Mexican Choc. and the Rasberry Ice Cream Recipes. Is there any way you could send them to me. (only if ice cream maker is NOT required)
Tks
Deb

also when printing off these receipes all the words that are light orange color do not show when printed off. Is there something I can do so I don’t have to keep writing these words in by hand? tks your great

Hi Deb, those two were just images as the recipes aren’t available for those. I hadn’t heard about the links not showing when printed, so thanks for letting me know–I haven’t noticed that when I print my own recipes. Let me ask my web guy if there’s a workaround!

Jacqui, you could definitely use stevia, but the texture will change. I deliberately used xylitol because I find it creates a lighter and creamier final product. I’d start with maybe 1/4 tsp (1 ml) of the liquid stevia, taste and adjust to your own taste. 🙂

That’s so awesome that it has a chilling feature!! I have an ice cream machine that I really like, but it requires some forethought since i have to put the bucket in the freezer ahead of time. That’s super convenient that this machine offers you ice cream on demand. Plus, your carrot cake ice cream looks entirely delicious!